40 caliber frenzy

I went to the lgs today still trying to decide on a 9mm that is in stock for my range gun. To my surprise there were only three 9mms in stock, but a lot of 40s and 45s. Is this the new rage? There were even twice as many 40s as 45s. When I asked the owner why, he said that is what is being sent to them. The 40 caliber is the most sought after according to them. Any opinions?

I went to the lgs today still trying to decide on a 9mm that is in stock for my range gun. To my surprise there were only three 9mms in stock, but a lot of 40s and 45s. Is this the new rage? There were even twice as many 40s as 45s. When I asked the owner why, he said that is what is being sent to them. The 40 caliber is the most sought after according to them. Any opinions?

I'd say the majority of LE use 40S&W, so I guess in a sense that's correct. It's hard to compare private sales verses the tens of thousands of handguns sold to major LE organizations.

I *suspect* it's split evenly between 9mm/40S&W/45ACP if one could somehow focus on private sales exclusively. Recent shortages on ammo and cash probably bumped 9mm up a bit but I also think it'll level out soon.

The market as a whole, however, I'd had to agree 40S&W handguns being moved/sold is dominant and has been for several years.

Still not impressed nor adequately persuaded to go the .40 route, personally. What I have I like and shoot well. I've tried many in .40 and though I can place my shots I can't see the attraction, especially given the price and avaialbility of ammo compared to 9mm and .45. All other things being equal, there still isn't anything making a convincing arguement for me to pick one up. Just my $0.02, FWIW, but i've never been one to be among the first on a popular bandwagon of ANY kind.

1911's and BHP's were all the rage with growing interest in the Berettas when I bought my P226. Nobody else at the range I frequented knew what is was, but were to a person impressed when I offered them a mag to test drive. Just sayin'........your milage may vary.

My guess is that they have sold out most of their 9mm inventory due to the lower cost of ammo. Dealers must move the 40's and 45's before the factory will ship them a new order of 9's. The 40 being more sought after is probably a story to cycle the inventory.

Lot of people are shooting 40's these days. I'm not exactly sure why but I see more of them moving in shops these days. Even a good bit of the "New to the Forum" people have said they were using a 40 or were thinking about getting one.

I like the round myself. I just like how it shoots. I've liked them enough to get three different guns (Sig Sauer P229, Browning Pro-40, and a Para Ordinance P16) using the same round. Maybe it's just the recoil. I alsdo love shooting my Super Redhawk 44 Rem. Mag

Like some of you have said, I think that ammo prices and availablility have contributed to the current situation regarding 9mm and .40. When buying my gun last November I hadn't decided between the Glock 19 and the 23. I literally stood at the counter in the shop for an hour debating it in my head. I had shot both, and liked the feel of both. What it eventually came down to was that I shot the 9mm just a smidgeon better, and the .40 ammo was $7 more per box of 50.

That having been said, I'm now in the market for a second gun, and since I've recently stocked up on 9mm range and SD ammo, I'll be looking at .40 and .45.

Bottom line: I'm not a caliber snob. Everyone has their preferences, but I like shooting them all. Someday I hope to own a handgun in every caliber.

I am a caliber snob to a point. Ever had use a 9mm or 40 cal in SD? Ben there done that. Best defense did a whole show over this and and they used 9mm, 40 s&w, 45, and 12 gauge 8 shot for self defense. what it came down to was the best defense for the home was the 12ga due to if you missed and hit the wall where a family memeber was in the ajoining room they would be less likely to be injuried.
The 9mm and .40 are high velocity ammo. more FPS the 45 travels about 950FPS doing the most damamge to the internal organs then logding in somewhere. the 9mm and 40ar around 1100 -1200 and will pass through with greater ez causeing less damage. I chose the 40 because its a step down from the 45 and well with 13 rounds and 1 in the pipe its was a good choice for me at the time for SD now used as a off duty and a duty caliber weapon... but i am in the process of looking for a 45.

I went to the lgs today still trying to decide on a 9mm that is in stock for my range gun. To my surprise there were only three 9mms in stock, but a lot of 40s and 45s. Is this the new rage? There were even twice as many 40s as 45s. When I asked the owner why, he said that is what is being sent to them. The 40 caliber is the most sought after according to them. Any opinions?

Well since you asked for opinions I'll give you mine - the 40 S&W have never been as popular as either the 9mm or 45's. I beleive the reason you see so many 40's and probably the 45's on the shelves is due to one reason - less people buy them. The dealer has sold out all his 9mm and other calibers and is left with his slow movers in todays gun buying arena. Same thing with ammo - I've can generally find 40 S&W ammo in stores when the 9's and 45's have all been sold out.

I pick up brass at the ranges where I shoot, when I can, as I reload - been doing this since before the 40S&W was introduced in 1990. I generally pick up over twice as many 9mm cases as I do 45's and probably twice as many 45's as I do 40's. This ratio hasn't changed much on the past 15 years.

Like some of you have said, I think that ammo prices and availablility have contributed to the current situation regarding 9mm and .40.

When I went to my local ammo store, today, in handgun ammo they only had .22LR and .40S&W. Glad I just bought a used glock23! I have found .40 at Sam Walton's store when there was nothing else available, also. just my .02